"A 2006 release, finally: My discovery on
MySpace.com this month is a singer-songwriter-performer-jack of
many styles named Jeremy Henry. His album Bitterly Ever After You
has a Valentine's Day release date (naturally!) [And I'll be interviewing
him that day at 1 pm on WRSU 88.7 FM, streaming live at nj.com/wrsu.]
Bitterly's lead off track, "Selfish Song", does what it's
supposed to do: It grabs your attention and doesn't let go until
it's over. Lines like "You knew who I was when we met and I
have no regrets for being this way / and you think that I won't
compromise but I'm tired of all the lies that I'm living each day"
are sung at the pace of words spilling out from who-knows-where
inside but you know it's right and shut up now I'm talking, but
set to a melody I envision thousands of fans at his concerts singing
along with. "Selfish Song" is a no-holds-barred affirmation
strewn with short shots of wit. (I truly love "I'm loaded /
with ammo / So you'd better put on your camo"). And that's
just for starters, 'cause if anything, "You From Here"
is even better-composed. To tell the truth, I love his lyric writing.
It's very honest without being sanctimonious or confessional or
hyper-romantic – all easy missteps others take.
And every song I've heard demonstrates that Henry
has a talent for how to stress or pause the singing of a lyric to
the best effect, whether to surprise or emphasize. With four songs
including those mentioned streamed at MySpace, and more at jeremyhenry.com,
one can get a solid taste of Henry's range – and it's wide.
Henry describes the sequence of songs on Bitterly as: "We go
from a hip-hop flavored guitar rock song, into a backyard hootenanny,
then to a very folk ballad" followed by an experimental rant,
an industrial track and one with Spanish guitar. I've heard most
of them, and can confirm it works. Bitterly Ever After You is his
debut, so get in on the ground floor of Jeremy Henry's career. Soon
you'll be able to brag you knew him when. " - Bill
Stella
